Open Letters: Selected Prose - Couverture rigide

Havel, Vaclav

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 0571143709 ISBN 13 : 9780571143702

Editeur : Faber & Faber, 1991

Synopsis

Vaclav Havel was born in Czechoslovakia in 1936. He is a leading playwright and has long been involved in the human rights movement in Czechoslovakia - and was sentenced to four and a half years imprisonment for this close association. In January 1932, for reasons of health, he was released from prison before his sentence was completed. The letters he wrote to his wife were published as "Letters to Olga". Practically everything Havel has ever written has acquired a new resonance since he became President of Czechoslovakia in 1989. This selection of his early prose ranges in time from the early 60s to his New Year message in 1990.

A propos du livre

Inside Flap Copy

Spanning twenty-five years, this historic collection of writings shows Vaclav Havel's evolution from a modestly known playwright who had the courage to advise and criticize Czechoslovakia's leaders to a newly elected president whose first address to his fellow citizens begins, "I assume you did not propose me for this office so that I, too, would lie to you." Some of the pieces in Open Letters, such as "Dear Dr. Husak" and the essay "The Power of the Powerless," are by now almost legendary for their influence on a generation of Eastern European dissidents; others, such as some of Havel's prison correspondence and his private letter to Alexander Dubcek, appear in English for the first time. All of them bear the unmistakable imprint of Havel's intellectual rigor, moral conviction, and unassuming eloquence, while standing as important additions to the world's literature of conscience.

From the Trade Paperback edition.

Review

"Brilliant and perceptive analyses...of the abuse of power by bureaucracies driven by cynical self-interest." -- Boston Globe

"An inspiring collection...a fitting tribute to a cultural and political hero, and a valuable resource for anyone seeking reassurance that the principles of democracy are still cherished in our time." -- Kirkus Reviews

"Havel's essays...show a complex political and moral sensibility. [Writing] with wonderful clarity and directness, he has a rare gift for metaphor and example. He can capture, with a phrase or a word, the dishonesty of an era."

-- Times Literary Supplement

From the Trade Paperback edition.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Faber & Faber
• Date d'édition: 1991
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0571143709
• ISBN 13: 9780571143702
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 415
• Éditeur: Wilson Paul
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible